Make use of journal articles and books that are not on your reading list

Leave time for thinking before you start writing

Produce an argument: not a book report or a shopping list

Pay close attention to the title of your essay or presentation

Remember that a presentation is a performance

Make distinctions; do not rest content with vague generalisations

Grab your listeners’ or readers’ attention with an arresting first paragraph

Identify the scholarly debate to which you are contributing

Choose your words carefully

Write in plain English

Master the scholarly apparatus of footnotes and bibliographies

Read new material when revising

Keep healthy and well rested when revising

In exams, remember you are trying to interest and persuade your reader

Even in exams you need to give examples and evidence

Don’t be boring!

What is rewarded above all in academic work is the ability to argue your own case with confidence and clarity – in other words, being able to persuade your reader of your point of view using your own words and carefully selected evidence